Agent Coulson is Down
by StarkidDreamer
Summary: How Darcy finds out that Agent Coulson didn't make it through the battle.


Darcy was standing in the burnt out remains of her S.H.I.E.L.D. appointed office space. It was silent inside but the world was still screaming outside. Manhattan had almost fallen. An Atom Bomb had been released. Aliens had invaded and the world was in danger now. There was a cut above her eye that was causing blood to flood down her face and a wound in her stomach. She couldn't feel that though. She realized that that was probably a bad thing but she didn't care as she stumbled forward to look out the window. The take in the aftermath.

She'd seen destruction before. She'd been there when the Destroyer leveled Puente Antiguo. She'd helped clean up in the aftermath. This was a whole new level of destruction. Everything was in shambles. She took a step back and tripped over some sort of rubble. Her head bounced against the ground and everything went dark.

When Darcy woke up she was in a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility. She was on one of a row of beds, each filled with people of different levels of damage. She leaned up and had to suck in a breath just to steady herself. She'd always been a strong girl. She'd been a strong girl since she was very young, she'd had to have been. Seeing all of this was rough. Even on her. "Darcy!?" Jane's voice wailed over the mostly silent room.

Jane had this ability to be louder than anyone she knew. She could be louder then Thor given the right incentive. 'Oh God. Thor.' she thought and smiled at Jane. Darcy had seen Thor flying over head during the battle. She was also aware Jane had been sent away just before everything went down. She hadn't gotten to see Thor. The thought made Darcy pretty angry. "Hey, Jane. How'd I get here?"

Jane picked her way through the small groupings of people around each bed and sat on the edge of Darcy's own cot. "You didn't check in after… after." she said and bit her lip. "When I found out what happened I made them bring me back. I had to make sure you were okay." Darcy doubted that that was the only reason she'd rushed back. "I found out you were considered MIA." Darcy blinked. How long had she been lying in that rubble anyways. "We found you not too long after. You were… not okay."

"What happened to me?"

"Hello Miss. Lewis." a man said then, coming up with a clipboard while wearing a white coat. Darcy sighed. "I'm the Doctor on the floor right now. Since this is being considered one of the biggest Mas Cal's in the history of the city most S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors are out in the field still. Damage control. You had a perforated bowel but you were stabilized and released into our care yesterday."

"How long was I out?" she asked with shock.

"Almost four days." Darcy nearly choked as Jane gave him a death glare. For someone so tiny she was fierce. "You should be fine. We had you sedated for the time being but you can be released as soon as-" she just kind of blocked everything out as she went through her discharge.

Jane explained that her apartment had been one of the few that survived. Most people had opened their doors to the temporarily homeless citizens of New York and a State of Emergency had been declared. Jane took Darcy to her apartment. She changed into something warm and sat down on the couch looking lost. "Coulson is going to give me a lecture like none other, isn't he?" she asked blankly. Jane looked pained.

Over the last year Darcy and Coulson had started a relationship. Not a sexual one but a good friendship. It had started over traded snark but, when he handed her her Ipod back with a little bow on the top she'd been sold. Forever a friend of the man. Though their friendship was constrained by things like clearance levels and such he was the one who'd gotten her the job in the end. It had been him that she went to crying one night when her father had called. Likewise she was the one to come to him at the end of the day with a glass of scotch and a smile. They were close. Jane sucked in a breath.

"Darcy… agent Coulson is Down. He… Loki-" the air rushed out of Darcy though. She stopped listening. She pitched forward and landed on her hands and knee's on the dull polished wood floor of her crappy apartment. She'd gotten splinters from it on more than one occasion until Coulson had gotten someone to varnish and seal it for her. He was everywhere. Jane was there then, on her knee's, wrapping her arms around Darcy in an somewhat awkward way.

"No." she said while trying to swallow hard. "No. He's fine. He has to be fine. He's Coulson. He has a girlfriend. He has a bull dog. Has anyone been feeding his dog?!" her voice had gotten shrill. She'd bought the puppy for him two months ago when they had both been pretty down. He'd named the dog Fitzwilliam. Darcy had snorted and told him something about how naming the dog after her being sweet.

"I… yeah. He's been running around some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. buildings until we can find a home for him."

"I want him. They can't take our dog away!" she wailed and Jane pulled her into her lap. Darcy spent the next few days trying to coax Darcy outside. She missed the funeral. She'd still been under sedation at the time. Darcy called his girlfriend to tell her what had happened. At least as much as she actually could. Three weeks later she found herself standing at his grave.

A lot of people were still unburied but Coulson had gotten a good funeral, she'd been told. He even already had a head stone. She starred down at it for hours. Not moving. Not speaking. When she was done she turned and walked away, making a promise. "Trust me Phil." she said quietly. "The Avengers may have gotten their revenge but I'm just getting started." she didn't look back.


End file.
